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Author
Topic: Living in Thailand with HIV (Read 14808 times)

Any chance someone would be able to advise me of a few things related to living in Thailand with HIV?

1. I am currently on Medicaid and taking Atripla.2. Despite the Atripla press releases claiming that it is available in Thailand (at a cost of +/- $140), no connections over there can confirm this. Does anyone know if it's available, and if so, how and how much?3. Alternative meds: for example, Atripla components, their quality, cost, etc.?4. Reputation of meds in general over there, and whether or not the social security (30 baht) plan covers them. I have heard that all private insurance specifically exempts HIV. I think mine will be BUPA (once I start working again and assuming I'll be approved).

Anything you might know would be helpful! Heading back to BKK soon.

I'll go to the Chula clinic on arrival, but there are just so many unknowns...

2.You could check that with one of the bigger hospitals Bangkok General or Bumrungrad or BNH.4.I take 2 thai made generics since a few years, no problems there, cd4 stays at 950-1050 at 48% as with the branded meds. While a foreigner who is employed with a workpermit can have social security and thus free treatment through a public hospital of their choice, this is different from the 30 thb scheme which is for Thai nationals (generally those that dont have social security through their employment contract or anybody outside the work force).

hello my dear Tamsinasia, welcome to thailand anyway i live in the main city bangkok and everything is very expencive which you suppose to know,i'm on sustiva,tenofovir,lamuvidine,even today i went for my blood work i asked my ID doc about( ATRIPLA) he even told me that as of now it's not avalible in thailand only they hoping to get (TRUVADA) maybe in few months to come ,becuase he work with CHULALONKORN also and private hospital as well.i hope this can help and my regimen meds is cheap the cost is about 2500baht almost 73dollar a month.

I'm also living in Thailand and I believe the ingredients of Truvada are available in Thailand - efavirenz, tenofovir, and emtrictabine. As you may know, Thailand has 'broken' the patents of some of these drugs, meaning that the prices are not as exorbitant as in the US, and the drugs are often made in Thailand or India. (for now - the corporations, the US, and the WTO are always trying to fight this)

As for insurance coverage, I work in Thailand and ostensibly have insurance coverage through work (don't know if it is public or private), but I have never been able to get it to pay for anything.

I am very sorry for my error! The original poster asked about 'Atripla', and I was thinking of that concoction - I believe the ingredients of Atripla are efavirenz, plus the two ingredients of Truvada: tenofovir and emtrictabine.

I'am living in Thailand but no longer on the same treatment . ingredients as Atripla. The previous post are good and i just want to add the same in that you will be able to get Truvada (very soon) and it will be from the original supplier and not a generic and the final part will be Stocrin (what they call it here) / Sustiva which will be a generic but very reliable. Most are reasonably priced and available at most large hospitals and even Pattaya if you plan to stay in that area.One final point if you are looking for a good I.D doctor then BKK is the place. You can get CD4 and viral load done in many hospitals outside BKK but the docs are not I.D specialists and i find they are not up to date on the latest HIV developments and don't know much more than the basics.Hope this helps

Thanks for the help everyone! It's now August 2009 and I have just received my first prescription of Truvada, which has recently become available in Thailand. Truvada + Stocrin (Sustiva) = Atripla. Things seem to be going better, after a hectic few months in which my numbers went a little crazy. Soon I hope to stop "living by the numbers."

Does anyone else generally enjoy the intensity of the Stocrin/Sustiva dreams? I have to say that I've had a number of really pleasant - and yes intense! - dreams.

omg I know! When I first started taking Atripla, I actually didn't get dreams. Now I get them every once in a while, not all the time. But they don't bother me, they're really just cranked-up versions of the odd dreams that I already have o.0

This was actually a helpful forum thread, as I'd like to study abroad (or, at the very least, live in Thailand for a little while) someday. Thanks so much!

I'll be checking this week on costs for tamsinasia's meds at Bumrungrad as I go for my blood tests. I did see on the ThaiVisa forums a posting from a few months back that the cost for the 3 separate components of Altripla was 169 baht per day, a bit over 5,000 baht per month (at Bumrungrad Hospital). I'm not on meds yet but want to know what's coming, I'll see what I can find out about what's currently available and costs (at least at BH). I'll post what I find out later this week. This forum has been a good source of info for me as well, I just tested positive in June. Good luck. Esper

tests and/or drugs are cheapest at the Anonymous Clinic. caveat is you need to bring a prescription to buy them as there usually isn't a doctor available on the premises to write one. I dont know about your combination but mine is ca 3000 thb a month. (2 generics; nevirapine and lamivudine and one branded; Viread). Chokdee!

I'm not sure if you know but truvada is easily available here now. I can only comment on Bumrungrad prices and know you use Bkk hospital but for Viread (original) and lamivudine (generic) which i used to be on the prices together work out at the current price of truvaada. No cost saving but it would reduce your med count by 2 pills per day. You probably know already but thought i would mention it!!

Checked price at Bumrungrad today for one month supply of truvada (tenofovir + emtrictabine) + strocrin / sustiva, just a bit over 5,000 baht. negotiations with Gilead to bring Altripla to Thailand are underway. I'm not on meds yet (tested positive June 26 so I'm new to all this - - - second test CD4 388 today), but doc was saying more and more the leaning is to move to a CD4 count of 350 to start meds, earlier than the current standard of 250 (ex-any special circumstances). There's an HIV/AIDS confab in Philadelphia in October, from which new or reaffirmed guidelines (350 versus 250 start point) would likely be forthcoming, perhaps before end of 2009. have a good weekend. esper

I don't believe there are any restrictions in Thailand for tourists - my bf went there for two weeks at the beginning of September, with hiv meds in tow. Thailand seems to have a big medical tourist trade thing going on, so I can't see any problems with having the screenings there if you're there as a tourist. I don't know about having hiv and gaining permanent residency though. And sorry, I can't recommend any hospitals, but I'm sure someone will chime in with that info.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

hey! Ann you could've inform me when your bf was here i'd be more delightedto see him also take him around,.

hello Sam thailand is a place everyone mind his/her own business nobody care sof your hiv+ onless you disclose it to them,. regard to hospital issue alot of themwhich if you read this acticles we wrote on this topic you can see we mentioned some hospitals here aready.here are some of them (anonymous clinic is very cheap for everything)then bumiungrad hospital,bangkok hospital and others.

Visiting no problem at all, longer term immigration not really a problem, work permit procedure not a problem, in the last two cases you might be asked for a health certificate but clinics issue them routinely.A prospective employer might assign you a hospital/dr for a health check. While testing for hivin that check-up is illegal, it happens routinely. And if you refuse the assigned check-up, you kinda won;t get the job. Catch 22.

Anonymous clinic is fine, they do testing and they have a pharmacy, and everything is cheap, but they don't have doctors (physicians) on the spot, so if you need medicine you wd still need to bring a prescription from a doctor outside to buy it there, and if you need a follow up on the test results you'd need to go and see a doctor somewhere else, too. Anonymous clinic has test packages that screen for certain cancers (anal) but not all. I thought these packages, tailored specifically to different age groups, were good value. They include cd4, stds,, pap smear, EKG, lung xray etc.

I have good experience with BH, BNH and Bumrungrad, Samitivej is another one, all these are top tier but they are the more expensive (for Thailand, that is). Over the last few years they got much more expensive, due to medical tourism etc. Cheaper options are Bangkok Christian and St Louis.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hi, I will like to check if there is any pharmacy in BKK that I can buy Truvada? I will only be transitting BKK during New Year Eve and as such, any recommendations is greatly appreciated. Happy New Year to all!